Heap Sort vs Merge Sort in Speed [duplicate]












1















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  • Quicksort superiority over Heap Sort

    5 answers




Which algorithm is faster when iterating through a large array: heap sort or merge sort? Why is one of these algorithms faster than the other?










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marked as duplicate by paulsm4, Community Nov 13 '18 at 1:30


This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.















  • Generally speaking, both has the same complexity of O(n lg(n) ), which is the best thing you can get from a comparison-based sorts .. and each of them can be faster on specific occasions, depending on the application.
    – Ahmed Hammad
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:42












  • "It depends" ;) See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm. Note the section on "stability". There is no absolute, one size fits all answer to your question.
    – paulsm4
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:43












  • stackoverflow.com/questions/2467751/quicksort-vs-heapsort
    – esprittn
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:46






  • 1




    @paulsm4 - duplicate question link is about heap sort versus quicksort, while this question is about heap sort versus merge sort. It needs a different link or it needs to unmarked as a duplicate.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 13 '18 at 3:41


















1















This question already has an answer here:




  • Quicksort superiority over Heap Sort

    5 answers




Which algorithm is faster when iterating through a large array: heap sort or merge sort? Why is one of these algorithms faster than the other?










share|improve this question













marked as duplicate by paulsm4, Community Nov 13 '18 at 1:30


This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.















  • Generally speaking, both has the same complexity of O(n lg(n) ), which is the best thing you can get from a comparison-based sorts .. and each of them can be faster on specific occasions, depending on the application.
    – Ahmed Hammad
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:42












  • "It depends" ;) See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm. Note the section on "stability". There is no absolute, one size fits all answer to your question.
    – paulsm4
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:43












  • stackoverflow.com/questions/2467751/quicksort-vs-heapsort
    – esprittn
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:46






  • 1




    @paulsm4 - duplicate question link is about heap sort versus quicksort, while this question is about heap sort versus merge sort. It needs a different link or it needs to unmarked as a duplicate.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 13 '18 at 3:41
















1












1








1


0






This question already has an answer here:




  • Quicksort superiority over Heap Sort

    5 answers




Which algorithm is faster when iterating through a large array: heap sort or merge sort? Why is one of these algorithms faster than the other?










share|improve this question














This question already has an answer here:




  • Quicksort superiority over Heap Sort

    5 answers




Which algorithm is faster when iterating through a large array: heap sort or merge sort? Why is one of these algorithms faster than the other?





This question already has an answer here:




  • Quicksort superiority over Heap Sort

    5 answers








java sorting mergesort heapsort






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked Nov 12 '18 at 19:40









Henry WangHenry Wang

358




358




marked as duplicate by paulsm4, Community Nov 13 '18 at 1:30


This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.






marked as duplicate by paulsm4, Community Nov 13 '18 at 1:30


This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.














  • Generally speaking, both has the same complexity of O(n lg(n) ), which is the best thing you can get from a comparison-based sorts .. and each of them can be faster on specific occasions, depending on the application.
    – Ahmed Hammad
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:42












  • "It depends" ;) See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm. Note the section on "stability". There is no absolute, one size fits all answer to your question.
    – paulsm4
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:43












  • stackoverflow.com/questions/2467751/quicksort-vs-heapsort
    – esprittn
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:46






  • 1




    @paulsm4 - duplicate question link is about heap sort versus quicksort, while this question is about heap sort versus merge sort. It needs a different link or it needs to unmarked as a duplicate.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 13 '18 at 3:41




















  • Generally speaking, both has the same complexity of O(n lg(n) ), which is the best thing you can get from a comparison-based sorts .. and each of them can be faster on specific occasions, depending on the application.
    – Ahmed Hammad
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:42












  • "It depends" ;) See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm. Note the section on "stability". There is no absolute, one size fits all answer to your question.
    – paulsm4
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:43












  • stackoverflow.com/questions/2467751/quicksort-vs-heapsort
    – esprittn
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:46






  • 1




    @paulsm4 - duplicate question link is about heap sort versus quicksort, while this question is about heap sort versus merge sort. It needs a different link or it needs to unmarked as a duplicate.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 13 '18 at 3:41


















Generally speaking, both has the same complexity of O(n lg(n) ), which is the best thing you can get from a comparison-based sorts .. and each of them can be faster on specific occasions, depending on the application.
– Ahmed Hammad
Nov 12 '18 at 19:42






Generally speaking, both has the same complexity of O(n lg(n) ), which is the best thing you can get from a comparison-based sorts .. and each of them can be faster on specific occasions, depending on the application.
– Ahmed Hammad
Nov 12 '18 at 19:42














"It depends" ;) See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm. Note the section on "stability". There is no absolute, one size fits all answer to your question.
– paulsm4
Nov 12 '18 at 19:43






"It depends" ;) See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm. Note the section on "stability". There is no absolute, one size fits all answer to your question.
– paulsm4
Nov 12 '18 at 19:43














stackoverflow.com/questions/2467751/quicksort-vs-heapsort
– esprittn
Nov 12 '18 at 19:46




stackoverflow.com/questions/2467751/quicksort-vs-heapsort
– esprittn
Nov 12 '18 at 19:46




1




1




@paulsm4 - duplicate question link is about heap sort versus quicksort, while this question is about heap sort versus merge sort. It needs a different link or it needs to unmarked as a duplicate.
– rcgldr
Nov 13 '18 at 3:41






@paulsm4 - duplicate question link is about heap sort versus quicksort, while this question is about heap sort versus merge sort. It needs a different link or it needs to unmarked as a duplicate.
– rcgldr
Nov 13 '18 at 3:41














2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















2














Although time complexity is the same, the constant factors are not. Generally merge sort will be significantly faster on a typical system with a 4 or greater way cache, since merge sort will perform sequential reads from two runs and sequential writes to a single merged run. I recall a merge sort written in C was faster than an optimized heap sort written in assembly.



One issue is that heap sort swaps data, that's two reads and two writes per swap, while merge sort moves data, one read and one write per move.



The main drawback for merge sort is a second array (or vector) of the same size as the original (or optionally 1/2 the size of the original) is needed for working storage, on a PC with 4 GB or more of RAM, this usually isn't an issue.



On my system, Intel 3770K 3.5 ghz, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, Visual Studio 2015, to sort 2^24 = 16,777,216 64 bit unsigned integers, heap sort takes 7.98 seconds while bottom up merge sort takes 1.59 seconds and top down merge sort takes 1.65 seconds.






share|improve this answer























  • So in the end it depends on the system...
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:10










  • @HenryWang - I updated my answer to note that heap sort swaps (2 reads 2 writes per swap), while merge sort moves (1 read, 1 write per move). Note that heap sort is more than 4 times as slow on my system.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:29






  • 1




    @Henry Wang: Q: So in the end it depends on the system. A: NOOO!!!!! It actually depends upon MANY things, INCLUDING system constraints (like memory), set order (partially sorted?), etc. etc. SUGGESTION: look here for some graphical comparisions Sorting algorithm animations
    – paulsm4
    Nov 13 '18 at 1:25





















0














Both sort methods have the same time complexity, and are optimal. The time required to merge in a merge sort is counterbalanced by the time required to build the heap in heapsort. The merge sort requires additional space. The heapsort may be implemented using additional space, but does not require it. Heapsort, however, is unstable, in that it doesn't guarantee to leave 'equal' elements unchanged. If you test both methods fairly and under the same conditions, the differences will be minimal.



Taken from here






share|improve this answer





















  • I understand your point in the extra time in merging and creating the heap for the two respective sorts. What do you mean when you say "additional space?"
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:51










  • Merge sort could take more space than the original array, if it allocates both halves of the array in merge sort before making the recursive calls to itself
    – Sand
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:59


















2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









2














Although time complexity is the same, the constant factors are not. Generally merge sort will be significantly faster on a typical system with a 4 or greater way cache, since merge sort will perform sequential reads from two runs and sequential writes to a single merged run. I recall a merge sort written in C was faster than an optimized heap sort written in assembly.



One issue is that heap sort swaps data, that's two reads and two writes per swap, while merge sort moves data, one read and one write per move.



The main drawback for merge sort is a second array (or vector) of the same size as the original (or optionally 1/2 the size of the original) is needed for working storage, on a PC with 4 GB or more of RAM, this usually isn't an issue.



On my system, Intel 3770K 3.5 ghz, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, Visual Studio 2015, to sort 2^24 = 16,777,216 64 bit unsigned integers, heap sort takes 7.98 seconds while bottom up merge sort takes 1.59 seconds and top down merge sort takes 1.65 seconds.






share|improve this answer























  • So in the end it depends on the system...
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:10










  • @HenryWang - I updated my answer to note that heap sort swaps (2 reads 2 writes per swap), while merge sort moves (1 read, 1 write per move). Note that heap sort is more than 4 times as slow on my system.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:29






  • 1




    @Henry Wang: Q: So in the end it depends on the system. A: NOOO!!!!! It actually depends upon MANY things, INCLUDING system constraints (like memory), set order (partially sorted?), etc. etc. SUGGESTION: look here for some graphical comparisions Sorting algorithm animations
    – paulsm4
    Nov 13 '18 at 1:25


















2














Although time complexity is the same, the constant factors are not. Generally merge sort will be significantly faster on a typical system with a 4 or greater way cache, since merge sort will perform sequential reads from two runs and sequential writes to a single merged run. I recall a merge sort written in C was faster than an optimized heap sort written in assembly.



One issue is that heap sort swaps data, that's two reads and two writes per swap, while merge sort moves data, one read and one write per move.



The main drawback for merge sort is a second array (or vector) of the same size as the original (or optionally 1/2 the size of the original) is needed for working storage, on a PC with 4 GB or more of RAM, this usually isn't an issue.



On my system, Intel 3770K 3.5 ghz, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, Visual Studio 2015, to sort 2^24 = 16,777,216 64 bit unsigned integers, heap sort takes 7.98 seconds while bottom up merge sort takes 1.59 seconds and top down merge sort takes 1.65 seconds.






share|improve this answer























  • So in the end it depends on the system...
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:10










  • @HenryWang - I updated my answer to note that heap sort swaps (2 reads 2 writes per swap), while merge sort moves (1 read, 1 write per move). Note that heap sort is more than 4 times as slow on my system.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:29






  • 1




    @Henry Wang: Q: So in the end it depends on the system. A: NOOO!!!!! It actually depends upon MANY things, INCLUDING system constraints (like memory), set order (partially sorted?), etc. etc. SUGGESTION: look here for some graphical comparisions Sorting algorithm animations
    – paulsm4
    Nov 13 '18 at 1:25
















2












2








2






Although time complexity is the same, the constant factors are not. Generally merge sort will be significantly faster on a typical system with a 4 or greater way cache, since merge sort will perform sequential reads from two runs and sequential writes to a single merged run. I recall a merge sort written in C was faster than an optimized heap sort written in assembly.



One issue is that heap sort swaps data, that's two reads and two writes per swap, while merge sort moves data, one read and one write per move.



The main drawback for merge sort is a second array (or vector) of the same size as the original (or optionally 1/2 the size of the original) is needed for working storage, on a PC with 4 GB or more of RAM, this usually isn't an issue.



On my system, Intel 3770K 3.5 ghz, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, Visual Studio 2015, to sort 2^24 = 16,777,216 64 bit unsigned integers, heap sort takes 7.98 seconds while bottom up merge sort takes 1.59 seconds and top down merge sort takes 1.65 seconds.






share|improve this answer














Although time complexity is the same, the constant factors are not. Generally merge sort will be significantly faster on a typical system with a 4 or greater way cache, since merge sort will perform sequential reads from two runs and sequential writes to a single merged run. I recall a merge sort written in C was faster than an optimized heap sort written in assembly.



One issue is that heap sort swaps data, that's two reads and two writes per swap, while merge sort moves data, one read and one write per move.



The main drawback for merge sort is a second array (or vector) of the same size as the original (or optionally 1/2 the size of the original) is needed for working storage, on a PC with 4 GB or more of RAM, this usually isn't an issue.



On my system, Intel 3770K 3.5 ghz, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, Visual Studio 2015, to sort 2^24 = 16,777,216 64 bit unsigned integers, heap sort takes 7.98 seconds while bottom up merge sort takes 1.59 seconds and top down merge sort takes 1.65 seconds.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Nov 12 '18 at 21:23

























answered Nov 12 '18 at 21:07









rcgldrrcgldr

15.2k31333




15.2k31333












  • So in the end it depends on the system...
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:10










  • @HenryWang - I updated my answer to note that heap sort swaps (2 reads 2 writes per swap), while merge sort moves (1 read, 1 write per move). Note that heap sort is more than 4 times as slow on my system.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:29






  • 1




    @Henry Wang: Q: So in the end it depends on the system. A: NOOO!!!!! It actually depends upon MANY things, INCLUDING system constraints (like memory), set order (partially sorted?), etc. etc. SUGGESTION: look here for some graphical comparisions Sorting algorithm animations
    – paulsm4
    Nov 13 '18 at 1:25




















  • So in the end it depends on the system...
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:10










  • @HenryWang - I updated my answer to note that heap sort swaps (2 reads 2 writes per swap), while merge sort moves (1 read, 1 write per move). Note that heap sort is more than 4 times as slow on my system.
    – rcgldr
    Nov 12 '18 at 21:29






  • 1




    @Henry Wang: Q: So in the end it depends on the system. A: NOOO!!!!! It actually depends upon MANY things, INCLUDING system constraints (like memory), set order (partially sorted?), etc. etc. SUGGESTION: look here for some graphical comparisions Sorting algorithm animations
    – paulsm4
    Nov 13 '18 at 1:25


















So in the end it depends on the system...
– Henry Wang
Nov 12 '18 at 21:10




So in the end it depends on the system...
– Henry Wang
Nov 12 '18 at 21:10












@HenryWang - I updated my answer to note that heap sort swaps (2 reads 2 writes per swap), while merge sort moves (1 read, 1 write per move). Note that heap sort is more than 4 times as slow on my system.
– rcgldr
Nov 12 '18 at 21:29




@HenryWang - I updated my answer to note that heap sort swaps (2 reads 2 writes per swap), while merge sort moves (1 read, 1 write per move). Note that heap sort is more than 4 times as slow on my system.
– rcgldr
Nov 12 '18 at 21:29




1




1




@Henry Wang: Q: So in the end it depends on the system. A: NOOO!!!!! It actually depends upon MANY things, INCLUDING system constraints (like memory), set order (partially sorted?), etc. etc. SUGGESTION: look here for some graphical comparisions Sorting algorithm animations
– paulsm4
Nov 13 '18 at 1:25






@Henry Wang: Q: So in the end it depends on the system. A: NOOO!!!!! It actually depends upon MANY things, INCLUDING system constraints (like memory), set order (partially sorted?), etc. etc. SUGGESTION: look here for some graphical comparisions Sorting algorithm animations
– paulsm4
Nov 13 '18 at 1:25















0














Both sort methods have the same time complexity, and are optimal. The time required to merge in a merge sort is counterbalanced by the time required to build the heap in heapsort. The merge sort requires additional space. The heapsort may be implemented using additional space, but does not require it. Heapsort, however, is unstable, in that it doesn't guarantee to leave 'equal' elements unchanged. If you test both methods fairly and under the same conditions, the differences will be minimal.



Taken from here






share|improve this answer





















  • I understand your point in the extra time in merging and creating the heap for the two respective sorts. What do you mean when you say "additional space?"
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:51










  • Merge sort could take more space than the original array, if it allocates both halves of the array in merge sort before making the recursive calls to itself
    – Sand
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:59
















0














Both sort methods have the same time complexity, and are optimal. The time required to merge in a merge sort is counterbalanced by the time required to build the heap in heapsort. The merge sort requires additional space. The heapsort may be implemented using additional space, but does not require it. Heapsort, however, is unstable, in that it doesn't guarantee to leave 'equal' elements unchanged. If you test both methods fairly and under the same conditions, the differences will be minimal.



Taken from here






share|improve this answer





















  • I understand your point in the extra time in merging and creating the heap for the two respective sorts. What do you mean when you say "additional space?"
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:51










  • Merge sort could take more space than the original array, if it allocates both halves of the array in merge sort before making the recursive calls to itself
    – Sand
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:59














0












0








0






Both sort methods have the same time complexity, and are optimal. The time required to merge in a merge sort is counterbalanced by the time required to build the heap in heapsort. The merge sort requires additional space. The heapsort may be implemented using additional space, but does not require it. Heapsort, however, is unstable, in that it doesn't guarantee to leave 'equal' elements unchanged. If you test both methods fairly and under the same conditions, the differences will be minimal.



Taken from here






share|improve this answer












Both sort methods have the same time complexity, and are optimal. The time required to merge in a merge sort is counterbalanced by the time required to build the heap in heapsort. The merge sort requires additional space. The heapsort may be implemented using additional space, but does not require it. Heapsort, however, is unstable, in that it doesn't guarantee to leave 'equal' elements unchanged. If you test both methods fairly and under the same conditions, the differences will be minimal.



Taken from here







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Nov 12 '18 at 19:47









SandSand

1,415319




1,415319












  • I understand your point in the extra time in merging and creating the heap for the two respective sorts. What do you mean when you say "additional space?"
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:51










  • Merge sort could take more space than the original array, if it allocates both halves of the array in merge sort before making the recursive calls to itself
    – Sand
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:59


















  • I understand your point in the extra time in merging and creating the heap for the two respective sorts. What do you mean when you say "additional space?"
    – Henry Wang
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:51










  • Merge sort could take more space than the original array, if it allocates both halves of the array in merge sort before making the recursive calls to itself
    – Sand
    Nov 12 '18 at 19:59
















I understand your point in the extra time in merging and creating the heap for the two respective sorts. What do you mean when you say "additional space?"
– Henry Wang
Nov 12 '18 at 19:51




I understand your point in the extra time in merging and creating the heap for the two respective sorts. What do you mean when you say "additional space?"
– Henry Wang
Nov 12 '18 at 19:51












Merge sort could take more space than the original array, if it allocates both halves of the array in merge sort before making the recursive calls to itself
– Sand
Nov 12 '18 at 19:59




Merge sort could take more space than the original array, if it allocates both halves of the array in merge sort before making the recursive calls to itself
– Sand
Nov 12 '18 at 19:59



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